Sunday, April 7, 2013

I can not remember how I heard the praises of delancey in Seattle, I know I read about it recently, somewhere. I remember thinking we must go, followed by I just started Weight Watchers and seriously pizza was not going to help me achieve my goal, but it sounded fabulous. So, two weeks go by at WW and I have lost five pounds and all I can think about is delancey. The photos on their fb page imprinted forever in my mind the balls of soft dough rising, the wood fired oven, the fennel sausage, the vintage industrial look of the place. The reviews, stating superb, excellent, the freshest ingredients with just a tad of mozzarella. Amazing thin crisp crust pies reminiscent of the pizza mecca in Brooklyn. The reviews, all the same each visitor standing on their own soap box and shouting with mouth watering details. And just as they were all in agreement of their love of delancey they also agreed on the only downside, the wait. Apparently the wait is significant a hour, give or take thirty minutes, seemed to be the general consensus, but aren't all good things worth the wait? I mean if I were going to make pizza at home it would surely take longer than an hour and I could easily pick up the phone and order from the fast food pizza chains. But I am 100% confident those chains resemble nothing even close to the culinary expertise of the much celebrated delancey. So we decided to go Saturday night, we knew there may be a wait and we were prepared to stick it out.

We arrived in Ballard around seven o'clock and when we turned on NW 70th Street we wondered, for a moment, if we were in the wrong area. Most of NW 70th Street is filled with cute little bungalows and just as I glanced to the right I spotted it.

It's location is unassuming and small I was thrilled not to see a line out the door and jumped out of the car to put our name on the list, while Clyde parked. I followed another gal in who was seated right away and for a split second I danced a little happy dance that we would soon be next. When the host came back she quickly brought me back to reality, "the wait for two is an hour and a half". Oh those words stung, but I was prepared I put our name on the list and wondered what we would do in this cute little neighborhood for 90 minutes. I thought to myself, should we leave and come back?, should we go scour the Village on Holman Road? She soon suggested we could wait in the bar next door and she would call me when our table was ready. I went back outside and waited for Clyde to return. We decided to head into essex, the bar next door, for a pre-dinner drink and let me tell you it was wonderful.

essex is cozy and warm and oozes, "we love what we do". This is not your typical neighborhood bar but after only a few minutes inside and a quick glance at their menu you can only wish this bar was in your neighborhood. Think local, think handcrafted. They make as many of the liquors as they can and have selected only the finest other brands to carry, no Bud, or Bacardi here.

We sat at the bar and had the best time. The staff was fun and engaging and watching them prepare the drinks was a real treat. Their drinks are creative and innovative and being not much of a drinker I am already looking forward to going back and trying something new. Last night I had a Americano ~ Campari, Sweet Vermouth and Soda while Clyde had a wonderful Rye Beer.

Sitting at the bar is paramount if you can, watching them mix drinks was so fun and Clyde and I were both intrigued by one we saw being prepared and we decided to try it. The Alondo ~ Gin, Elderflower Liquor, Chartreuse, and Charred Rosemary, served in a vintage, silver champagne goblet. It was showy and I was so glad I had my camera on hand to capture it's preparation.

Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We walked through the back of essex, right in to delancey, and were seated in a very full dining room. We chose two pizzas, the Margherita, and the Sausage, made with their house made fennel sausage.

I'll be eating lettuce for the rest of the week, but it's all good.

Yum, they were so delicious!

Simple, fresh, bursting with flavors and the crust was equally crispy and chewy.

Pizza perfection!

Worth the 20 minute drive from Edmonds and completely worth the wait. When you go, be sure to put your name on the wait list at delancey's and then go enjoy a cocktail at essex. And by all means sit at the bar, it's just so much fun. I guess I'm on the soap box now, and speaking of soap...

...but wait it's not just a shameless plug, it's a giveaway! "GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED"

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About Me

I am grateful everyday for all the blessings in my life. I want to live wiser, love bigger and have more compassion than I did yesterday. I truly believe in life you get out only that which you put in.